This invention relates to the analysis of materials and, more particularly but not exclusively, is concerned with apparatus for use in determining the proportion of solid particles larger than a specified size in a fluid mixture consisting of a suspension of a particulate solid material in a liquid, and with a device which inter alia is suitable for use in such apparatus.
In many industries which produce or process a particulate solid material it is often important to ensure that the particule size distribution of the product or material to be processed remains within predefined tolerance limits. It is often especially desirable to control the proportion of coarse, over-size particles in the particulate solid material and, to this end, it is desirable to be able to determine the proportion of particles larger than a given size in a sample of the material and thus in the material itself, in a convenient manner. Frequently, the material concerned is in the form of a slurry or suspension thereof in a liquid, and in order to carry out the desired determination, it is desirable to be able to obtain a sample of the slurry or suspension containing a fixed weight of the particulate solid material.